Double or Nothing
by Fang of the Pouncing Jaguar
Summary: I never really understood what the whole hype about Pokemon was all about. It seems like the whole world is crazy for trainers. That is, I never understood the hype until I began my journey. OC, semi-Nuzlocke.
1. The Rules

When I heard that I was getting a Pokemon, I was in denial. The second time, I thought that someone was playing a joke. When the ninth time rolled around, I finally believed. Not that I wanted to, of course. Unlike most of my peers, I wanted to have a nice, normal life without the stupid things. But no. Being in a well-known training family meant that I had to be one as well.

"Wakey wakey, little Noctowl!" My older brother, Jeremiah, was a jerk. I had been sleeping, and he just woke me up. Before walking out the door he managed to slap me a few more times.

I sat up and rubbed my stinging cheek. Stumbling over to my closet, I went to put on my clothes before stopping and realizing that they were all packed away in the large boxes.

Training.

Dear Arceus.

Training.

I'm leaving today. I'm leaving today.

I raced down the stairs and into our kitchen.

"Our little trainer! Have we told you how proud we are of you for making this choice?" My mother pulled me into a hug and ushered me to the table, where a pokeball and a steaming bowl of eggs awaited. All of my five brothers were sitting down, shoveling their food into their mouths. It wasn't really my choice, but whatever.

"Eat up! It may be the last big meal you have in a long time!"

I sat down numbly. This was happening. My bag was packed, and after I was done eating, I'd go get a training license and I'd be off on my 'wonderful journey'. As was the rules, I wouldn't be able to come home until I obtained all of my badges.

* * *

"Welcome to your introduction to the wonderful world of pokemon! My name is Professor Larch and I am the leading name in Pokemon adaption. In celebration of your upcoming accomplishments, each one of you get a free Pokedex. In order to use this..." I was standing in a small laboratory with five hyperactive children and two others about my age. The woman speaking was tall and muscular, but her excited talking cast her in a far less threatening perspective. Her Abomasnow on the other hand... Professor Larch bustled over to each of us and pressed a small tablet into our hands, "...and then it's registered! Do all of you already have your pokemon?"

A bushy-haired girl about my age sidled over to me, "Do you think that she's ever going to stop?"

I smiled wanly, "Maybe?"

"If you aren't listening, this could cost you later!" we snapped back to attention, "As I was saying, your licenses are stored on your pokedex, and digital copies of your badges can be found by touching your Trainer's License twice. As thus, please take care of it, as I am told that it is quite a pain to replace it. That being said, your adventure starts now!"

A heartbeat, and the little kids ran out of the room, cheering and shouting.

"Please stay back, the three of you," Professor Larch tapped my shoulder, "As you are older, there are other options. The little ones will either be successful or return to their home, but as you know, once you are 15 you can't go back. Thus, the other cities will be open and-"

"Open? What do you mean, open?" the bushy-haired girl interrupted. I was confused as well. What did she mean by open?

"The thing about training is that you cannot travel further than Jubilife City unless if you have experience or are older. This is to prevent younger trainers from being attacked and losing their Pokemon. On the Routes past Jubilife City, there are few people and help is scarce. "

"Do the rules still apply in the other cities?" the black-haired boy asked.

"Yes, with a few others as well. You know the main three, right? Rule one: Finish what you started. Rule two: Respect your elders. Rule three: Respect your partners. However, those are only the basics. You already know of one rule- the Fighting Rule. There are sixteen others, which can be accessed from your pokedex. Are there any questions?"

The other two trainers opened their pokedexes, and scanned through it. I copied their actions, and grimaced.

**The Grass Rule: Only one pokemon may be caught per route (exceptions to routes with pokemon infestations and in the case of a life-saving act).**

**The Water Rule: Once you begin a battle, there is no backing out.**

**The Fire Rule: Dangerous pokemon may be put down with permission from the trainer.**

**The Normal Rule: Trainers cannot catch other trainer's pokemon.**

**The Flying Rule: Trainers must have battles with equal amounts of pokemon.**

**The Rock Rule: Noncompliance with Gym Leaders and the Police are punishable by PC.**

**The Bug Rule: PC disposal is illegal unless a Gym Leader or Champion give their written permission.**

**The Dark Rule: If a trainer is killed by his pokemon, it will be either Traded, killed or PC'd.**

**The Psychic Rule: Parties of over 6 are illegal unless stated otherwise.**

**The Electric Rule: Pokemon abuse is illegal.**

**The Fighting Rule: Any trainer over the age of 15 must complete their journey.**

**The Poison Rule: Using other's pokemon is illegal under all circumstances.**

**The Ground Rule: Trainers are not to travel together in groups of more than four.**

**The Steel Rule: Trainers must have battles with an equal amount of people.**

**The Ghost Rule: Contacting Spirits (not Ghost types) is punishable by death.**

**The Dragon Rule: All high-level pokemon must be registered.**

**The Ice Rule: Any suspected members of anti-League organizations must be reported.**

What was this? What did it mean by punishable by PC? Either way, these rules didn't sound that appealing. Suddenly, I found myself dreading the upcoming journey even more. I looked around to ask the other two what they thought, and found myself alone in the lab with an irate Abomasnow breathing down my neck. They had just left me? I scampered out, and casting one last glance at my house and village, took my first step of my journey.

End of Chapter One

_Hello. This is my first story that I've posted on Fanfiction. Hopefully, this will be at least readable. If you have any questions, comments, criticism, corrections- or dare I say it- complements, please PM me or review. Thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoy! The other chapters will be longer. Plus, I know exactly where I am going with this._

_Have a lovely day,_

_Jaguar_


	2. Green blobs and anti-climatic battles

The sun was shining, Starly were chirping, and I was miserable. My Pokemon had been released (a Starly, by the way), and it promptly ran off. That was my first lesson. Pokemon are wild, and it takes extensive taming and training until they won't run away. Most will listen to your battle commands right off the bat, but that says nothing about their behavior outside of battle.

On the brighter side, one of my brothers had slipped a Great Ball into my pocket before I had left. Was it against the law to attack a Pokemon to capture it? A Bidoof wandered by, and I clenched my hand. Was it worth it? The Bidoof stepped on a large rock and tripped with an audible crack. Two Starly flapped over and began squabbling over it. Just then, a screech rang out and the Starly scattered as a Pidgeot swooped down and the trainer got off.

"Was that your Bidoof?" she asked. Her clothes were Pikachu-yellow. League Official. My gaze strayed to her belt, and I saw a full team of six, and a Breeder's bag with about five other Pokeballs in it.

"No ma'am."

"Do you have a Pokemon with you?"

"No ma'am. This is my first day, and the Starly was a gift," I answered. To the best of my knowledge, traveling without a Pokemon wasn't illegal, but it was more of a law of common sense that a legal issue. On the first routes, weak-leveled Pokemon were common, but occasionally an Onix or Steelix would escape the League's detection, and rampage. It always would end in at least one casualty.

"It ran away?" she said. One delicate brow rose.

I lowered my gaze and twiddled my thumbs, "Yes, m'am."

"Do you have any idea on just how dangerous travelling alone can be? We can't protect against everything, you know. Do you even have a pokeball?" I took my Great Ball out from my pocket, "Good. Do you know how to catch a Pokemon?"

"Yes, m'am," I said, shifting around. I had seen my brothers practice several times before.

The Official pushed a pokeball into my hands, "This is a Pokemon that my starter bred while in the Daycare in Unova. Solosis are more than capable of taking care of themselves. And don't even think about abusing it. They are psychic types and know the difference between right and wrong."

What? She was just giving me a Pokemon? "M'am, are you really-"

"Shush. I already have several other Pokemon in the Solosis chain, and one less will not hurt me. Go on, open it," she said. I stared at her. What just happened? I rolled the pokeball around in my hands, debating if I dared to release it well, if it tried to escape, she could get it, right? I clicked the button.

The green blob reappeared in a flash of light, "Sol!"

"Solosis, this is your new trainer, just like you wanted," the woman said. A burst of happiness swirled in my head, and I jumped. That wasn't my feelings. I stared at the blob. The blob narrowed its eyes, and I glared back at it. Was the blob (this time, the glare was accompanied by a dull headache)- okay, the Solosis- an empath Pokemon? Well, the Official did say that it was a Psychic-type.

"He's a bit of a handful, which is why he doesn't fit with the rest of my team. With a bit of work, he should warm up to you. Well, have fun on your training experience," the League Official hopped back onto her Pigeot and they soared away. The Solosis floated into my hands. What just happened? Was I just handed a Pokemon? We stared at each other.

"Jimmy? Tommy? Bobby?" Do Solosis do anything other than glare? "Alex? Ash? Stewie?" The two of us were walking along Route 1- well, I was walking and the Solosis was floating- and trying to come up with a name for him.

"Trainer!" I turned around. A boy in an orange top and blue shorts ran up to me. _A youngster_. "Trainer! Battle me! I need to level up my Bidoof!"

"Pardon me?" The youngster was taller than me by almost a head, and I had to look up to meet his eyes. He was younger than me, too.

"You know, battle? You are a trainer, aren't you?"

"Yeah, but is this really the best place?" I could feel my cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

The Youngster laughed, and then paused. "You aren't kidding?" I scuffed the dirt and watched my Solosis out of the corner of my eye, "Uh, wow. You're just a rookie, aren't you?" He tossed a Pokeball on the ground and a scruffy-looking Bidoof popped out. My Solosis floated over, interested in a stronger opponent.

"Wait, he's not ready to fight yet!" Sadly, my words were in vain. My Solosis had released the pinkish beam, and the Bidoof was trying to tackle him.

"Rocky, use Tackle!" My opponent said, waving an arm out to emphasise his command.

Was I supposed to do that? While my Solosis was attacking wild Pokemon, I had been leaving it to train on its own, but it was clear by the Bidoof's more accurate attacks that commands must have done something. I decided to give it a try, "Uh, use your beam!" When my Solosis made no move to comply, I added a please and it finally obeyed. I could almost taste the reluctance. The Bidoof barely paused as it tackled my Solosis again, and again. It was having a bit of trouble floating. The Bidoof tackled it one last time, and it dropped to the ground, releasing one last beam at the Bidoof. It staggered and fell over and the Youngster recalled it.

The Youngster scowled at me, and fished a wad of bills from his pack. I numbly walked over and took it, picking up my Solosis along the way. The youngster stalked past me and I watched him leave. He turned a corner and he was gone. My Solosis turned to look at me and I stared down at it. At its exhausted glare, I laughed. I went to go get something to eat from my pack and paused. I didn't pack any food. My laughter came to an abrupt halt.

End of Chapter Two

_Hello! I finally updated! A big thank-you to RamenKnight for their review. I hope that you continue finding this fun! If anyone reading this has any comments, tips, questions or corrections, feel free to say it! _


	3. Route 202

On the pro side, I had finally decided on a name for my Solosis. Meet Zev, my short-tempered blob of a partner. On the con side, my stomach was trying to eat me. It was day two, and I was tired, dirty, and hungry. I was hungry because of my lack of food, dirty due to trekking in the wild, and tired because Zev found sadistic pleasure in giving me migraines as I fell asleep. Needless to say, I was in a foul mood.

So when the Youngster came up to me and released his Starly, I showed no mercy. Zev had been training whenever possible, and was more than capable of taking out a runty bird. However, this Starly was obviously better trained than the others we had faced and the trainer was just a year or so younger than me. Together, they utilized hit-and-run strategy that Zev had quite a bit of trouble protecting himself against. Worst of all, Zev had stopped listening to me half-way through the battle, and kept flinching away from the attacking bird. We were going to lose. I tried again to coach him out of it, but my Solosis was floundering in mid-air. Finally, a well-timed attack made him fall to the ground, where he just laid there.

The Youngster held out his hand, and I gave him his reward money. He stowed it away into a pocket. "You know, you're going to have to help it battle," he said, "It's bad luck for a trainer to not help, and it's a great bonding experience."

I looked up at him and saw a genuine urge to help in his eyes, and smiled. Maybe I should work with Zev a bit more. "Well, good luck, rookie!" He walked away, his Starly flying after him.

I picked Zev up (he was rather light), and examined him. It didn't look like he was injured, but with a floating green blob, it was hard to tell. Solosis were supposed to be rather hardy, so I had no worries about his well-being.

X

"So. Here's a deal that will help both of us out. You listen to me in battles, and you get better. You win battles- with my help- and I get money for supplies. Understand?" Zev eyed me critically, and I grinned nervously. I had thought about it quite a bit while he was knocked out, and the pros far outweighed the cons. The Solosis floated into my hands, and I asked it if that was a yes. It flipped over and gave me a Purugly-worthy stink-eye. I supposed that that was the closest I would get to acceptance, and my smile broadened, "Wanna practice?"

"Lo!" Zev cheered, and I blinked. That was the first time that he had actually answered me. I looked around, and saw a Bidoof nibbling on a tree's bark. It was perfect. Zev had already beaten several Bidoof before and even if I messed up, he would know what to do.

"Go behind the Bidoof, and give it a headache," I whispered to my Pokemon. Zev's mouth curled up into a malicious smirk, and I felt a small kinship with my green blob. He obeyed my orders (yes!) and I saw the Bidoof start to pay less attention to its surroundings. "Now, attack it."

Zev zoomed forward and knocked the Bidoof off of its feet. It growled, but was quickly put into its place by further mental attacks. Finally, it scampered away into the bush. Zev and I cheered, and went to look for our next victim/opponent.

I spotted a sleeping Starly in a low tree branch. Its head was tucked firmly beneath its wing, and I could see its breast rise and fall with shallow breaths.

"This time, try to knock it off of the tree." Zev stared at me, and then floated out of my hands into the air. He flew behind the bird, and ambushed it from behind. The Starling Pokemon lashed out with its talons and I ordered Zev to float backwards. He obeyed and fired a Psybeam at the panicking Pokemon, pushing it off the branch that it had been roosting on. It fell onto the ground with an audible crack. I winced and rushed forwards, but Zev continued attacking it.

"Stop! Zev, Stop!" The Solosis ignored me and continued bombarding the injured Starly. As soon as I reached it, I grabbed Zev with one hand and picked up the Starly with the other. It scratched feebly at my hand, and then stilled as it slipped into unconsciousness. Zev was pulsing angrily in my hand, and I stuffed him into my bag and looked at the Starly. One of its wings was broken, and there was a trickle of blood coming out of its beak. I touched its breast and felt a slight fluttering, and I sighed in relief. It wasn't dead, but it needed medical attention. Cradling it in my hands, I picked up the pace, having seen a building in the distance.

X

I stumbled to a halt in front of the Pokemon Center. Zev had stopped struggling and was resting in my backpack (I was 99% sure that my headache was due to him and not dehydration). I took a deep breath and opened the doors. There was maybe two trainers, and my dramatic entrance had made everyone look up at me. The Nurse Joy raised an eyebrow, and I flushed. I walked up to the pinkish counter and shoved the Starly and my Trainer's ID at her, only for her Blissey to take the Starly and walk away into a room behind what I guessed to be the Healing Machine.

"Is that Starly yours?" Nurse Joy asked. I shook my head. "Whose is it?"

"It's wild. My Solosis and I were training and it fell off its branch."

"And it didn't fly away?" Nurse Joy sounded skeptical, and I didn't blame her. If one of my brothers had came home with a broken and bleeding Pokemon and tried to tell that to Mother, she would have made her Glaceon freeze the spit in their mouth.

"My Pokemon's a Psychic." The pink-haired nurse nodded and asked me if I planned on staying the night. I smiled and nodded. I was dead tired.

"Very well. May I recommend the Trainer's Library we have? There are several training guides, which may be of help to you. Also, Pokemon Centers have free lodging and food for trainers. Just go upstairs and show the receptionist your Trainer's ID to receive your room. We will call you when the Starly is healed."

I thanked her and walked up the stairs to get a room. Although I had never been to Jubilife before, food and sleep came first.

"May I help you?" the receptionist was a teen aged girl with blonde hair and over-sized glasses. She was popping gum loudly and was reading something.

"Yes please. I'm looking for a room?" I suppressed a yawn.

"Trainer's ID, please?" She asked, not looking up from her edition of _Jynxed!._

"Name or number?" I asked.

She sighed and looked me in the eye, "Both. I input your number, and you write down the name on your wall."

I pulled out my ID, "Uh, S00135667."

"Great. Room 6A is available today. I hope you enjoy your stay," the receptionist said, obviously not meaning the last part. I walked away.

"Room 90A….Room 86A… Room 77A…...45A….23A….11A...2A- too far! Ah, 6A!" I scribbled my name onto the schedule next to the door, and entered. The room was small, cramped, and smelled like a Roserade in bloom (that is, sickeningly sweet). However, it had a fridge, a huge bed, a smaller desk, and a bathroom. It was the best sight that I had seen since I had started my journey. The covers were so fluffy and it all looked freshly washed. I shut the door and opened my backpack in order to let my Pokemon out. Zev flew out in a huff and gave me a splitting headache. But, I couldn't be bothered. I flopped onto the bed and even if I wasn't able to fall asleep, the feeling was amazing. Eventually, the headache stopped, and I didn't wake up until I heard the phone ringing.

X

I groaned and dragged myself out of my comfy bed to answer the infernal ringing, "Hello?"

"Hello. Is this ah, Alex Caldwell?"

"Yes. Pardon me, but who's calling?" I asked. My father had told me stories of Magikarp scammers calling you once, pulling you into a conversation, and then the next day you ended up with a Magikarp and a 500 Poke debt.

"This is Nurse Joy. The Starly is feeling better, but due to the nature of her injury, she has to be taken care of by a trainer. Are you able to care for her? Starly are very loyal, and their final evolutions are world-renowned for their intellect and ferocity." I blinked. This sounded too good to be true. According to Jeremiah, once a wild Pokemon was healed in a Pokemon center, it was immediately released. There had to be a catch.

"Why does she have to be with a trainer?" I asked.

Nurse Joy paused, "She's land-bound until evolution. Her left wing is completely mangled."

Dear Arceus. However, I supposed that I could still train it to fight on the ground, "I'll do it."

"Great! Do you want to pick it up today?" I smiled at the happiness in the Nurse's voice.

"Yeah, sure. I'll come down in an hour or so," Well, I was up. I staggered into the bathroom to take care of my needs and then I walked downstairs, better refreshed.

I showed Nurse Joy my Trainer's ID, and she handed me a sleeping Starly. I could see what she meant by "mangled wing". It was gauzed up, but the primary feathers that poked out were snapped and raggedy and the wing tip bent in. She recommended to me that I first catch the Starly, and then meet it in my room. Still holding the Starly, I walked over to the Pokemart, and purchased a Pokeball (200 Poke? Insanity!). Not quite sure on how to catch a Pokemon, I tapped the button against the Starly. The Pokeball opened, and the sleeping bird was swept inside. It rocked once, twice, three times, and _ding!_ed.

Copying what I had seen on the battling shows my family was obsessed with I clenched the Pokeball in my hands, grinning when the baseball-sized ball shrunk down into a pebble-sized one. My first official capture, done!

"I'm back," I called out to Zev as I walked into my room. I paused. The door to the fridge was open wide, and a wide range of foods were scattered across the bed. My Solosis was in the center of it all, levitating chips into his mouth.

"Sol?" Zev floated a MRE over to me. It didn't look particularly appetizing, but I was so hungry, I was almost shaking. I ripped it open and stuffed the meat into my mouth. It was delicious. No, more so. I could feel the pure deliciousness, and- "Sol!" I looked up. Zev didn't look too happy with my eating habits. And did I care? No.

"That… was good." My belly was pleasantly full, and Zev was still glaring at me. "I have a new Pokemon with us, the Starly that you tried to kill. It's on our team now. I'm going to release it, and you will be doing nothing to it." Having said that, I fumbled for his Pokeball. I returned him, and released my new team member.

It appeared in a burst of light, and stared at me with beady black eyes. A heartbeat passed, and then the bird tried to fly away. It failed. After realizing that it couldn't fly away, it started shrieking and clawing everything next to it. Being somewhat knowledgeable about flying-types, I picked up a blanket and hooded it. The Starly calmed down and I spoke to it in a low voice. "I'm sorry. We seem to have gotten off to a bad start. Your wing is broken, and I'm going to be your Trainer until you evolve. A Trainer is a person who…" I kept on talking to the bird, slowly releasing it from the impromptu hood.

Good. It was calm. The little bird sat on top of my bedding. While it was still relaxed, I sent out Zev, and the Starly went into hysterics again. Ugh.

End of Chapter Three

Um... So I'm trying to get my word count up to 5k a chapter. This one was about 1k more than the last ones so PROGRESS! Yay! If possible, please tell me what I can do better, ask questions, and point out anything you particularly liked.


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